Who Makes the Goods We Buy?

The United States buys many of the goods we use every day from other countries. When we buy an item that is manufactured elsewhere and sent here, the item is called an import and the country we buy it from is called a trading partner. Here is a chart showing where most of the imports we bought in 1998 came from.

Import Trading Partners
Chart showing US trading partners

Who Sells Us Stuff?

CountryPercent of
Total 1998 Imports
Canada20.7%
Mexico11.2
European Union20.7
 France 2.8
 Germany5.8
 United Kingdom4.1
South America3.9
 Argentina0.3
 Brazil1.2
 Chile0.3
Asia43.6
 China8.5
 Japan14.4
 Hong Kong1.3
 South Korea2.8
 Singapore2.2
 Taiwan3.9
 Malaysia2.2
 Philippines1.4
 Thailand1.6

Who Buys The Goods We Make?BusinessBusiness Then and Now
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